Senior Counsel - Risk & Enforcement

Overview

This role will serve as a strategic and trusted advisor across intellectual property disputes, software enforcement matters, trade secret protection, license compliance, and related investigations affecting both internally developed and third-party offerings. The position also supports complex vendor, partner, competitor, and third-party disputes involving software, technology, confidentiality, licensing, or business conduct issues, with an emphasis on prevention, litigation readiness, evidence development, and effective resolution.

This position is not expected to own employment litigation or routine customer litigation, though it may provide support where those matters involve IP, technology, trade secret, software enforcement, preservation, discovery, or other issues within the role’s subject matter expertise.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy for intellectual property and technology-related disputes, including trade secret, patent, copyright, open source, software licensing, and related claims.
• Act as the dedicated legal partner for significant software and technology disputes, partnering with product management, engineering, security, services, and business teams to translate complex technical facts into legal strategy.
• Develop, implement, and maintain litigation prevention and readiness frameworks, including early risk identification, legal holds, preservation, evidence collection, technical fact development, and escalation of material disputes.
• Lead internal investigations and pre-litigation assessments relating to potential IP misuse, trade secret concerns, software licensing, customer usage, vendor conduct, and other technical disputes.
• Advise on and lead customer license compliance and enforcement matters, including usage reviews, audit rights, demand strategy, negotiations, escalation decisions, and resolution structures.
• Advise on and manage disputes with vendors, partners, competitors, and other third parties involving software, technology, intellectual property, confidentiality, or performance issues.
• Partner with product and engineering teams to strengthen documentation, development practices, access controls, and other measures that support IP protection, trade secret protection, and future evidentiary needs.
• Manage outside counsel, experts, e-discovery providers, and other litigation vendors, including strategy, staffing, budgets, alternative fee arrangements, and performance.
• Work with Legal Operations and other stakeholders to improve discovery readiness, information governance, legal hold administration, evidence management, and repeatable litigation workflows.
• Advise senior leadership on material disputes, enforcement decisions, litigation exposure, settlement strategy, and business risk, presenting recommendations clearly and practically.
• Monitor and translate developments in litigation, trade secret law, software licensing enforcement, e-discovery, and other technology-related areas into actionable guidance.
• Develop and deliver legal training and practical resources for legal, product, engineering, security, sales, and business teams on litigation readiness, trade secrets, documentation, preservation, and dispute prevention.
• Take leadership over matters and cross-functional workstreams across the full scope of the risk and enforcement function as needed.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school required.
• Must be in good standing with at least one State Bar.
• Minimum of 10 years of total experience, including at least 5 years of experience in a law firm litigation position, with meaningful in-house experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing intellectual property or technology-related disputes, including meaningful experience with software, trade secret, copyright, patent, licensing, or open source matters.
• Deep knowledge and hands-on experience with litigation strategy, internal investigations, preservation, discovery, expert development, settlement analysis, and outside counsel management.
• Demonstrated experience developing litigation readiness, dispute prevention, trade secret protection, or enforcement programs before claims are filed.
• Deep technical fluency in software and related technologies, with the ability to engage substantively with engineers and product managers and translate technical concepts into legal and litigation risk analysis.
• Experience with software license compliance and enforcement and with customer or vendor disputes, including practical and commercial considerations in resolution.
• Demonstrated senior leadership capability, including setting strategic direction, influencing at the executive level, and leading complex cross-functional matters across a broad legal portfolio.
• Ability to clearly articulate and defend risk analysis; critically examine business practices to ensure alignment with legal requirements; and provide practical advice regarding business risk.
• Proven team player and consensus builder with a business approach to law.
• Flexible self-starter who can proactively solve problems, work autonomously, and handle significant client contact.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present to executives, managers, customers, and other employees with a client-service focus.
• Diplomatic, approachable, and able to exercise sound business judgment.
• Ability to manage conflicting demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent organizational skills, including managing multiple projects and meeting deadlines.
• Ability to act with the highest integrity and professionalism.

Preferred Qualifications

• Engineering, computer science, or other relevant technical degree preferred, along with experience in software and/or other high technology industries.

Information Security

Information security is everyone’s responsibility. Individuals are responsible for the security and protection of company information and IT resources over which they have control, according to their role.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual salary range: $112,500.00 - $151,875.00 gross before taxes.
• Unlimited Vacation Time as well as paid holidays and sick time.
• Health and Wellness coverage options for employees and dependents.
• Life and disability coverage.
• Fidelity 401(k) and Roth Retirement Savings with matching contributions.
• Monthly student debt benefit program.
• Tuition Reimbursement and Certificate Reimbursement Program opportunities.
• Leadership and skills training opportunities.

Location

Remote work is available.

Equal Opportunity

Equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Additional Notes

• Background and reference checks are included in the hiring process.
• In Massachusetts, it is unlawful to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment.